Fighting Corruption and Corporate Loot: Lokpal Impasse and Beyond
“The anti-corruption movement today must go beyond Jan Lokpal Bill. Corruption today is directly linked to the policies pursued by the present government.” says Prashant Bhushan at Seminar.On 11th of January, 2012 AISA organized a convention on Corruption and Corporate loot titled ‘Fighting Corruption and Corporate Loot: Lokpal Impasse and Beyond’. The Speakers in the Convention included Prashant Bhushan (noted Supreme Court Lawyer and Anti-Corruption Activist), Paranjoy Guhathakurta (visiting faculty DU, noted journalist and commentator) Prof. Nivedita Menon (SIS,JNU) Anand Pradhan (IIMC and noted columnist) and Sandeep Singh President, AISA. Around 200 students from various universities like JNU, JMI, IIMC, IIT joined the convention. Throughout the past year, we saw a spirited movement articulating genuine aspirations of the common people of this country to end the shameful immunity currently enjoyed by the corrupt and against the regime of corruption and corporate loot. The Student-youth Campaign Against
Corruption and Corporate Loot initiated by AISA repeatedly pointed out that corruption today is intrinsically linked with the issue of corporate takeover of virtually all economic spheres and natural resources. The neo-liberal policies of privatization (wherein common resources like mines, forests, rivers, and even spectrum become the exclusive property of some individuals and corporates, who can then sell them for enormous profits) hugely encourage the regime of corruption. Therefore, any serious attempt to address corruption today will have to tackle the roots of corruption, which lie in government’s economic policies. All the speakers in the meeting very well pointed to the linkages between the new economic policies, corruption and corporate loot. Speaking on the occasion Anand Pradhan pointed out the fact that in almost all campuses throughout the country there are almost no student unions. Citing the example of recent Maruti Workers strike in Gurgaon he pointed out how the basic principle of any democracy as well as our constitution of having a trade union is being curtailed. Prof. Nivedita Menon stressed on the fact that the usual understanding of various left groups and thinkers that corruption is a middle class issue needs to questioned. She argued that corruption today is a very loaded term and it very clearly shows how capitalism survives only with the help of the state. Thus she argued further that today any fight against corruption is against capitalist system as well for saving democracy. Pranajoy Guha Thakurta narrated the story of Bellary to the gathering and showed how BJP in Karnataka is directly a part of corruption. Prashant Bhushan exposed the big claims of Manmohan Singh that liberating Indian economy has actually lead to the fast growth of Indian economy.
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Prashant Bhushan addressing the Students - Prashant Bhushan argued that no doubt our GDP has touched double figures, but this speed in GDP growth has been achieved at the cost of poor of this country. Linking corruption with the economic policies of the government Prashant Bhushan said ‘The anti-corruption movement today must go beyond Jan Lokpal Bill. Corruption today is directly linked to the policies pursued by the present government”. Prashant Bhushan also compared the two lokpal bills i.e. the Sarkari Lokpal bill and the Jan Lokpal bill and explained how the Sarkari Lokpal was a toothless and ineffective bill with all the controls for its working being with the government itself. Sandeep Singh, AISA National President shared the experiences of Student-Youth campaign against corruption which AISA and RYA did the whole last summer. Sandeep Singh argued that in the next phase of the anti-corruption movement AISA will take up the issue of Education and Employment with dignity and campaign among the student-youth of this country. In Delhi University the DU administration has brought a new rule according to which any organization deciding to host a programme in any open space has to pay Rs.7000. Sunny Kumar DU, AISA secretary ended the meeting by requesting the students and teachers of DU to resist this move of the DU administration.
Corporate Loot Down Down!
Why corporates are getting subsidies worth 240 crore per day when the government claims that it lacks money to ensure free education, healthcare and food for the poorest Indians.
down with corporate loot..overthrow this govt of corporate houses..peoples struggle long live!!!
The kind of nexus between Govt, Administration and Corporates, we are seeing now in last 15 years has never been seen. After this Neo Liberal policies, the extent and scope of corruption has increased to thousand times. India’s GDP is still hanging below 10% but at the same time after adopting Neo Liberal policy, China’s GDP is nearly 20%. India is lagging because of Corruption. So we all should think n act to eradicate this beast.